Still, the Titans, who play an aggressive style, hope they've done the right thing to a defense that allowed 238.3 yards per game last year, which bested the 247.9 allowed by Super Bowl champion Baltimore.

"I think our defense on paper is better than it was last year," Fisher said.

"We've got guys new to our defense, but we feel we've upgraded our football team. And the younger players are improving. They've got another offseason under their belt. We like the way we line up on paper."

The Titans replaced Williams by elevating former linebackers/third-down coach Jim Schwartz, and they hired Gunther Cunningham, former Kansas City coach, as assistant head coach/linebackers.

They replaced Robertson with Bobby Myers, a second-year player from Wisconsin who was Robertson's backup last year.

They replaced Walker with DeRon Jenkins, former San Diego cornerback who lost his starting job to Duane Starks in Baltimore two years ago.

And they replaced Holmes with Kevin Carter, former Rams defensive end who led the NFL in sacks two years ago.

"Talent-wise we might be better," said Pro Bowl cornerback Samari Rolle, who also qualified his remarks.

"It's too early to say if we have that cohesion. Actually, we had a great defense, but I think we have a chance to be better this year."

Carter (10.5 sacks last year) and fellow end Jevon Kearse (11.5) could be the best such tandem. And with Randall Godfrey, the hard-hitting middle linebacker, returning, along with Pro Bowlers Rolle and strong safety Blaine Bishop, the Titans have solid players all around.

Fisher has noticed a lot more three-step dropbacks from opposing quarterbacks in the preseason.

"The ball came out very quickly," he said. "And we were in a situation where when the ball wasn't coming out, the quarterback was getting hit."

The Titans had 13 sacks in four games, but the three-step drops could have also been their opponents' normal offenses. Chicago runs a quick-throwing system, St. Louis runs a wide-open attack and Philadelphia and Detroit run the West Coast offense.

Still, Tennessee had seven interceptions and held opponents to 36.2 percent success on third-down conversions, close to the 30.8 percent they posted in leading the league last year.

The big test for Tennessee's defense will be coming together fast enough to fend off a five-game start that includes hosting the Dolphins (Sunday), visiting Baltimore (Oct. 7) and hosting Tampa Bay (Oct. 14).

Nedney new kicker

The Titans cut kicker Al Del Greco, who missed several key field goals a year ago, and added ex-Dolphin Joe Nedney.